Today is the third round of research for my project, and my topic is to compare the superpowers in ancient times and the superpowers now, what are some similarities, and what are some of the differences?
To start off the Blog Post, I want to state that by ancient superpowers, I mean Mesopotamia, Babylon, Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient China. And by modern superpowers, I mean the USA and China. Before going deeper into the details, you may already notice that China had been in both of them, while the other civilizations kind of lost their power, China was to arise again to become a global superpower.
First, let’s talk about their geological positions, the Mesopotamia and Babylon both spread through the Middle east and south Asia. Indus Valley lies across Afghanistan, and Pakistan, to the heart of modern-day India,(1) Ancient China is in the same place as China now, and Ancient Egypt thrived along the river of the Nile. All ancient civilizations relied on the water source, and cities were built around the lakes, rivers, and oceanside. The USA spreads across the North American continent, occupying lands which were only previously owned by the indigenous people. China, on the other hand, is usually considered to be on the opposite side of the globe, but in fact, China is closer to the US than you would think, the two countries are only separated by the North Pacific Ocean. (2) In conclusion, most of the ancient civilizations thrived mainly near the center of the globe, and towards the eastern part of the Asian continent, and most of the civilizations were very far from each other although they may seem close on the map, there is still a very large gap between the countries which would be painful to go across riding horses and bumpy carts. (3)
Secondly, let’s talk about their rivalries, the ancient civilizations had most of their enemies right around their border because of their insufficient ways of travelling. And according to historians and geologists, most of the ancient civilizations didn’t even know of each other’s existence. (4) The rivalries between the two modern superpowers are the exact opposite of the ancient civilizations, the two modern superpowers have been intensifying their rivalry over the last two centuries. (5) The two global superpowers can greatly influence the global economy and mass destruction; therefore, without any pressing or negative events, the responsibility of not starting a global war that could lead to the end of humanity lies on the shoulders of those two giants. (5)
In conclusion, the world is always changing, but there will always be countries, citizens and cultures that have survived the change and developed better than ever. It also portrays the cruelty of the world, if you are not able to keep up with the fast pace, you will be only known in books and memories.
The take away question is, which country do you think will become the next superpower?
- https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations#:~:text=Many%20scholars%20believe%20that%20the,great%20flood%20struck%20the%20area
- https://thetranslationcompany.com/resources/language-country/china-chinese/location-china.htm
- https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/ancient-people-travelled-extreme-distances-00225
- https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/birth-agriculture-neolithic-revolution/a/introduction-what-is-civilization
- https://tnsr.org/2022/01/the-growing-rivalry-between-america-and-china-and-the-future-of-globalization/